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'The proportion of final year students planning to take time-off or go travelling after their studies is at an all-time low and record numbers of students are now opting to research their career options in their first or second year at university, rather than leaving job hunting until the final six months before graduation.

'While the "Class of 2012" may not be any more optimistic about the graduate employment market than their predecessors, those leaving university this summer have taken an especially pro-active approach to the challenges of finding a graduate job.'

The findings are based on interviews with 17,737 final-year students from 30 top UK universities including Oxford and Cambridge.

Job hunting: Analysts who conducted the research highlighted a 'new realism' among students

The survey shows that just 12 per cent are intending to take a gap year after university - down from 20 per cent a decade ago.

A record 42 per cent of finalists made job applications to graduate employers almost a year before they are due to start work, applying for graduate vacancies in September or October at the very beginning of their final year at university.

This compares with 37 per cent who applied early in 2011, 31 per cent in 2009, 28 per cent in 2006 and 25 per cent in 2001.

Students' confidence in the graduate job market has dipped again, with an increased proportion of finalists describing the employment prospects for university-leavers as 'limited'.

The average number of graduate job applications made by finalists also increased, from 5.7 per student in 2010 and 6.8 in 2011, to a record 6.9 applications per student this year.

It means the overall volume of graduate job applications by final-years at the 30 universities has soared from 200,000 in 2004 to 360,000.

Marketing emerged as the most popular profession for graduates, while investment banking also saw a surge in applications.

Expected graduate starting salaries' have stalled at an average of £22,600 - the same level that was recorded in the 2011 survey.

But students expect to be earning an average of £39,900 after five years in work - and a sixth of this year's university-leavers believe their salary will be £100,000 or more by the age of 30.

Expected graduation debt for finalists has risen by almost four per cent to an average of £19,400 - an increase of £700 compared with last year.

This includes an average £4,200 in commercial debt - either loans, credit cards or overdrafts - that needs to be repaid quickly after university.

The rest comprises student loans repayable through the tax system.

The relentless rise in A-level pass rates was exposed by figures showing that 64 per cent of final-years at the 30 universities gained at least three As at A-level - up from 55 per cent just five years ago.

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Graduate recruitment nightmare as students are forced to fire off applications in record numbers because of downturn